Woodcutting

Winter Woodcutting on the Mountain Meadows Farm

Outback field

I cut wood because I like wood heat from a stove inside the house--a place where you can go and always get very warm!  I am especially glad for it on cold winter evenings.   It is so comforting to have the glow of the fire through the stove door, the independence from oil, gas or electric heat & having good heat when the electric goes off. I would rather spend 10 days cutting wood than $2000 on oil or gas to keep us warm!  And besides, there is the saying, wood keeps you warm 3 times, cutting it, stacking & hauling it,  and burning it! 

When I first bought this farm it was slowly growing back into woods.  In the last 35 years we have re-cleared most of the fields.  There are still many field-edges grown up in trees on land that was once grassland.   Those areas are still suitable for pasture (i.e. not too steep to get a tractor & brush hog over it) but need to be cleared first.  Most of our firewood over the years has come from clearing of old pastures and pasture-edges!

Sometimes some of our wood comes from along fence lines as we build new fence.  Our son Cal was a major help this time helping load and unload the trailer and stack it in the woodshed.  

Till next time, 

John

Cal having fun posing with the woodpile